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Plain-English explainers on how U.S. money works — what the aggregates measure, how the Fed operates, and what the data can and cannot tell you. No predictions, no advocacy.
The money supply
What Is the M2 Money Supply?
The most-watched measure of U.S. money — what's in it, what isn't, and why it moves markets.
M0, M1, M2, M3: The Money Aggregates Explained
From physical cash to broad money — how each layer is defined and how they relate.
Why the Fed Stopped Publishing M3
The broadest aggregate was discontinued in 2006. What it measured and what the Fed said.
The Velocity of Money
Why the same dollar can do more or less work — and why velocity has fallen for decades.
Prices and inflation
What Is CPI and How Is It Calculated?
Inside the Consumer Price Index: the basket, the weights, and the common criticisms.
Does Printing Money Cause Inflation?
The quantity theory, what the 2010s and the 2020s each showed, and where the debate stands.
The Federal Reserve
How the Fed Sets Interest Rates
What the FOMC actually controls, and how a target range becomes real-world borrowing costs.
How Money Is Created
Most money isn't printed — it's lent into existence by commercial banks. Here's the mechanism.
Quantitative Easing and Tightening, Explained
What QE does, what it doesn't, and how the unwind (QT) works.
The Fed's Balance Sheet, Explained
What the central bank owns, what it owes, and why the size of the sheet matters.